Safety holders for ear ornaments



March 24, 1959 E. w. SCHWEIKERT SAFETY HOLDERS FOR EAR ORNAMENTS Filed Sept. 17, 1958 IN V EN TOR. .E. 14 5 ch we iitert @LIMWW ATTORNEY United States Patent SAFETY HOLDERS FOR EAR ORNAMENTS Edward W. Schweikert, New York, N.Y.

Application September 17, 1958, Serial No. 764,477

1 Claim. (CI. 63-14) This invention relates to ear ring safety supports or holders, and the main object is the provision of a novel, useful and practical adjustable support for an ear ornament of the type common today, which does not necessitate puncturing of the ear.

As the modern type of ear ornament, used in place of the older ear ring, is clamped or screwed on the ear lobe and held in place by the resultant pressure, single ornaments are frequently lost because of loosening of the clamping means; this usually means that the set of two must be replaced. By using the support of the present invention, the possibility of accidental loss of an ear ornament is eliminated.

Further, the present invention permits of positioning the ornament in any one of a series of vertically spaced positions with respect to the ear or ear lobe, thus not only accommodating the support to wearers 'having different sizes of cars but also permitting of changing of the position of the ornament by the same wearer for a change in style or appearance.

The above as well as additional objects will be clarified in the following description wherein reference numerals refer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is intended solely for the purpose of illustration and that it is therefore neither desired nor intended to limit the invention necessarily to any or all of the exact details of construction shown except insofar as they may be deemed essential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the safety support or holder of the present invention, showing in phantom the ear of the wearer, to which the holder is applied, with an ear ornament thereon.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the same.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the holder per se, in open position, prior to mounting the ear ornament therein.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral indicates the holder of the present invention, and it refers to the entire holder which comprises the elongated arm 11 having its upper extremity shaped into a hook 12 adapted to engage the ear of the wearer, and the bar 13.

Pivoted at its lower end to the lower end of the arm 2,878,660 Patented Mar. 24, 1959 ICC or shank 11, the bar 13 is provided with a series of spaced substantially semi-circular deformations 14. It is apparent that when the bar 13 is swung clockwise, Fig. 3, into position with its upper flat extremity 15 flush against the fiat shank 11, the deformations 14 provide, in cooperation with the shank, a series of vertically spaced openings 16. A sleeve 17, slidable on the shank 11, permits of locking the bar 13 against the shank, by being slid down over the fiat extremity 15 of the bar.

An ear ornament of which one is shown at 19 merely by way of example, usually includes a yoke 18 having aligned threaded holes through the free ends thereof, with the jewel or ornament per se, 20, screwed into one of the said holes and a clamping screw, not shown, screwed into the other hole, the ear lobe being clamped between the outer leg of the yoke (the one bearing the ornament 20) and the screw clamp or jaw. Although this usual form of ear ornament may obviously be used with the present support, the former may actually be substantially simplified, in the manner illustrated, for this purpose. Thus, the ear ornament 19 shown comprises the yoke 18, the jewel 20, and a threaded stem 21 rigid with the jewel. To mount this ear ornament in any one of the openings 16, the jewel is unscrewed, the legs of the yoke are positioned on opposite sides of the opening 16, and the stem 21 is passed through the aligned openings in the yoke legs and the opening 16 and tightened. vIn fact, when it is desired to wear a jewel alone without a yoke such as shown at 18, only the jewel with its threaded stem 21 need be used, except for a nut which would be equivalent to and take the place of the left-hand yoke leg, Fig. 4, as is obvious.

In addition to thus insuring against accidental loss of an ear ornament and permitting of varying its vertical position on the support, the use of the latter eliminates the discomfort or pressure against the lobe, which is unavoidable When a yoked ear ornament is used in the manner common today.

Obviously, modifications in form or structure may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:

A holder for an ear ornament comprising a straight shank having a hook on the upper end thereof adapted to suspend the shank from the ear of the wearer, said shank having a sleeve slidably mounted thereon, a pivot provided at the lower end of said shank and a straight bar of lesser-length than that of the shank rotatably connected with the shank by means of said pivot, said bar having a plurality of substantially semi-circular deformations spaced vertically from each other intermediate its ends and extending entirely from one side thereof, said bar engaging said shank in operative position and said plurality of deformations defining jointly with said shank a plurality of openings, a stem selectively received by one of said openings, said sleeve retaining said bar in operative position and, thereby, also retaining said stem in the selected opening.

No references cited. 

